Back in the 1970s, the British-American rock band "America" recorded the song "Muskrat Love," but the tune was made popular by Captain and Tennille, who famously performed it for Queen Elizabeth at the White House. Allegedly, the Queen nodded off. But neither ensemble wrote the quirky song.
“Muskrat Love” was composed by Willis Alan Ramsey and nobody know what inspired him to describe the courtship of pair of two sophisticated rodents dancing the tango and snacking on cheese and bacon by candlelight.
Even in Wisconsin, real muskrats don’t eat cheese. They feed on submerged roots and grasses, reeds and waterlilies. In winter, they may eat fish, crayfish or even a few zebra mussels or clams. But primarily, muskrats eat cattails. They also chew mazes of underwater tunnels through thick stands of cattails and they often create their lodges out of cattails.
As for dancing during courtship — not so much. Understand that muskrats tend to be antisocial and disagreeable. During their so-called courtship, a pair might briefly do a bit of mutual grooming and maybe engage in a vigorous chase or two, but males apparently attract the females through scent.
Male muskrats emit a foul-smelling musk which seems to suffice as courtship. The male, female and their many offspring live as a family until the young can fend for themselves. And parents can have multiple litters.
The breeding season is about as long as a muskrat’s skinny tail. Here in the Great Lakes region, breeding season starts in early spring. Last winter was so warm, that might have been as early as March but by now — it is about over.
Which means, the muskrats, which seem to be one-season monogamists, will probably split up. What “ooks like "muskrat love" is not true love forever.
